Thrust Together
by komodo.dragon2
Summary: Hi it's me Komodo! Sorry I haven't been on DX This is a LudwigxReader story: You are a nurse during WW1 for the German troops, and you are to take care of Human!Germany: Ludwig. Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

You paused to catch your breath, wiping away sweaty hair plastered to your forehead. Already you had helped perform three amputations, several bullet removals, and five gassed patients, and it was only ten in the morning! You felt exhausted: eyes demanding rest, limbs weary with fatique from overexertion. You felt it'd be better to crawl to places then walk, though you knew that wouldn't help your wounded soldiers. You were a nurse serving the freshly wounded Germans from the battlefield, and you wished you were dead.

A scream rupted through your eardrums, causing you to wince. "Another amputation..."

"NURSE! GASSED MAN!" A stern womanly voice called.

"Coming!" You replied, hasting after the voice. When you arrived the stern-sounding woman shoved a pair of hands into your arms. "Take him away and tend to him."

You nodded, gently squeezing the hands for support. "Sorry..." You apologized once she walked away, "She's not very social. Come on, I'll take you to your bed." You looked over at to whom the gloved hands belonged to: A stiff-looking solider with smoothed back blonde hair, tall form, cloudy befuddled blue eyes, dirty uniform, and smudged black boots. He looked to be about seventeen..."Come on." You gently repeated, hooking an arm around him.

He merely nodded, clutching your hands as you soothingly rubbed his arms, trying to comfort and cheer him up despite his injured state.

"Slowly...allright, I'm going to place your hands on the bed, and then, I'll help ou lay your head down." You laid his hands down, and softly cupped his head, bringing it down to meet the pillow. "Do you feel comfortable?"

The boy clung to your hands, the terror of being blind in a new place showing on his handsome face. "..."

"Shh...you'll be allright. it's allright. I'm here and you're safe from the battle." You squeezed his hands. "What's your name?"

He didn't answer, rather he kept clinging to you, nodding slowly. "..."

"Why don't we take off your gloves? Would that be more comfortable? Perhaps remove your hat also?"

The patient paused, as if he was deciding whether or not to trust you. Not that you couldn't blame him...being blind and having to trust a complete stranger was not an easy task. After a bit of debate, he hesistantly nodded, pointing to his gloves only.

_At least he's communicating with me..._You thought encouragingly as you removed the leather gloves, cradling his hands in your own. "There, that feels better, doesn't it?"

"NURSE! AMPUTATION!"

You held your breath, swallowing the foul tasting bile that had formed in your mouth. Refocusing your attention to the silent patient, you held his hands tighter. "I'll be back soon, allright? Hang in there, you'll be able to see soon."

His helpless expression only deepened as your hands left his. Now...he felt alone...in a strange environment, with nothing but screaming fellow soldiers to listen to.

Your eyes widened as you hurled today's lunch on the ground beside your feet. The gore was getting to be too much. Groaning, you clutched your stomach and covered your mouth as another wave of nausea consumed you.

"Nurse _, go take care of the gassed patients." Your fellow nurse ordered. "Oh, and try not to puke on 'em, okay?" She added with a chuckle.

"Okay..." You wandered into a room where a nurse was just finishing her shift. "Shut up! I don't want to hear it! You're fine! German soldiers never complain! Shut up!" She hissed at the men. "Thank goodness you're here. 'Bout time for me to leave." Spitefully she spat on the ground and left, mumbling.

"I'm so sorry..." You apologized to the sixteen men huddled in a room. "We shouldn't be treating you like this...forgive us please, we're just overworked." You passed by each bed, touching all of their hands, trying to be supportive. "It'll be over soon, ja?"

A chorus of weak "Ja!" 's was your reply, which encouraged you.

"That's the spirit!" You smiled walking over to the man whom you had helped earlier. "How are you feeling sir?"

"..." His hands clammered for yours, gripping them as a dead person grips the last breath of life.

"Your strength is coming back! That's wonderful sir! And I have some good news! You're going to leave here in a few weeks! Isn't that exciting?"

His face lit up, then fell during the last few words. Slowly, he nodded, still death-gripping your hands.

"So...what's your name?" You prodded gently. "It'd be a lot easier to talk to you if I knew your name..."

He sighed, shaking his head as a stern "no." He couldn't trust you...not yet...not yet.

"Maybe later...Hang in there sir...it's going to be allright." Your hands hugged his, hoping he could feel the sympathy through the simple touch. "Hang in there." Shyly, you leaned in and kissed his smudged cheek. "It's going to be allright."

You had to admit, your favorite part of nursing was being the beseecher of the hospital: Encouraging them, singing with them, talking with them, making them feel as at home as you possibly could, telling them stories of your childhood or fairy tales, even making up games for them to play like "Guess what object I'm thinking of" Or "Teach Nurse _ German". The men called you "Mein Engel" (My Angel) and "Schwester" (Sister). They seemed to be in better spirits when it was your turn to come and take care of them.

The only one who wouldn't seem to open up to anyone was the man you called "Sir." He stayed nonchalant, cold, grumpy, maybe even a little angry with the rest of the world. He never spoke or made any noises to show that he was even alive. The only thing he would do consistently was grip your hand and not letting you leave his bedside unless you were paged by another nurse or by your shift ending.

Today though, you were determined to try harder. "Guten tag everyone!" You called out in a sing-song voice.

The men cheered "Engel is back!" as they whooped as loud as their weakened bodies could.

"Yes yes, I'm yours until I get paged. How are you feeling?"

Johann, a handsome brunette with an arm missing, grinned. "I'm gut! Arm feeling better everyday!"

Wolfgang, a blonde with a temper like an Irishman, nodded eagerly. "Ja! I even spat back at the nurse who comes in before you!" He laughed. "You should have seen her face, she looked better than usual!"

You rolled your eyes. "What a thing to say!"

"And she tripped in the goop you coughed up here earlier." Otto laughed along.

"Oh you two..." You walked to Sir. "I trust you weren't a troublemaker in my absence?"

He nodded and remained silent, but squeezed your hand. Today his eyes looked slightly better, which made you smile. "Sir, your eyes look splendid today! Keep it up and you'll go home!"

"Sir" swallowed and clung to your hands fearfully, wanting some form of familiar comfort and love. "..."

You bit your lip, wondering how to help him...since he won't open up.

**I apologize for my absence DX And for the shortness of this ^^; but chapter two is there! -**

**Please enjoy this, and let me know if anything is wrong, politely. **

**Komodo **


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, I wanted to apologize once again for my loooong absence. I'll try to be on here more often, ja? Once again, I do not own you or Ludwig, or anything. Please enjoy, and kindly let me know if I get any historical reference wrong. Thanks.**

**Komodo**

Chapter Two

_Two weeks later..._

"Good morning gentlemen! I trust you all slept well?"

"_Engel_'s back!"

"_Ja_ I did!"

"_Ja_ I did too!"

"_Nein_, the stupid nurse wouldn't shut up." This brought a round of laughter from the gassed men, and a smile to your tired face.

The only one who wasn't in a jovial mood was "Sir". He remained silent, never moving at all. "_Guten morgen_ Sir! How did you sleep?"

His large hands enveloped yours, giving them a tight squeeze as he brought them closer to his chest.

You blushed, grateful that the men couldn't see your heated expression. You had to admit it: you had taken a shine to this solemn patient. He looked to be of seventeen, same as you, and it seemed he kinda liked you too. Now if only you knew his real name….that might help with the awkwardness. "How are you feeling?"

"Sir" gripped your hands fearfully and remained silent as normal…though….his clouded blue eyes seemed to send a flicker of recognition through the foggy state of his face. Ever so faintly, he mouthed, "Better" and hugged your hands.

Your heart skipped beats. He had communicated with you! Trying not to squeal with glee over your accomplishment, you grinned and tried to act casual. "I'm glad to hear it. Are you um comfortable? Need your um pillows fluffed?"

Once again "Sir" hugged your hands, lifting them to his face, causing your fingers to graze his pale cheeks. "_Ja_." He mouthed slowly.

"O-okay, just a minute." Cautiously you pulled his head up to you and reached around behind him to fluff the pillow, secretly praying that no one else was looking.

"Sir" shut his eyes and hugged your smaller frame closely as his pillow received treatment. Nurse _ felt…soft… like someone else he only vaguely remembered….He squeezed you tighter, moisture starting to seep through his glassy eyes. Waves of terror unleashed within him and wracked his body as he silently shed tears on your uniform. His lip quivered, his eyes ached from lack of sleep. Despite his brave tough guy exterior, he was scared. Memories of screaming, dying men writhing around, horrifying images of dead soldiers with their eyes open, peering into his soul gripped at his mind. These combined with his loss of sight and treatment by the medical staff, save Nurse _, had driven his emotions over the edge.

You smiled, finishing his pillow. "There you go." Gently you smoothed his crop of blonde hair back from his forehead, and planted a soft kiss on his head. "It's going to be over soon…it's only a matter of time, okay? And soon, you can leave and go to your family."

Another wave of turmoil wracked his body, causing him to clutch you yet tighter. That was the problem….he…had no family.

~~~/\~~~

You rubbed your aching back as you entered the room for your next shift. "Hey guys."

"_Hallo Engel!_"

"_Engel's_ back!"

"Bring us food, _Engel_?"

"_Guten tag Engel!"_

You gave a half-hearted smile and made your rounds, touching their hands and trying to make them comfortable. "Hi. No, sorry, no food. That's in an hour."

"_Danke Engel_."

"_Oi! Engel!_ You bring us beer?"

"Sorry no beer, Baldric." You ruffled his hair and walked over to "Sir."

"_Guten tag_ Sir. You feeling well?"

He reached out for you, face almost smiling as he touched your hands. "_Engel_?" he whispered.

Your eyes widened in surprise. He _could_ speak! Swallowing, you tried not to show any surprise in your voice. "Y-yes?" _Well that failed…._

"I…" he began, lip quivering again.

"You?" you gently prodded, smoothing back his hair.

"I….I…" his raspy voice tried again.

A nurse shouted your name, causing you to groan. Looking over at "Sir", the corner of your mouth lifted. "It's a pleasure to talk with you, Sir. I look forward to speaking with you again." Blushing, you leaned over and kissed his cheek.

As you ran out, "Sir" blushed very slightly, and looked away, nodding ever so faintly.

~~~/\~~~

Today, you were determined to find out "Sir"s name, even if it meant strange tactics. As you entered the room, you hummed a bouncy tune and touched the soldier's hands. "Hello everyone! How are you this fine morning?"

"_Engel_!"

"Hey! How are you today Edverd?"

"_Fein! Fein!_ Better than that stupid nurse." He laughed. "I think...I can see..."

"Congratulations! But, you have to stay here for a few more days until we're sure, okay?"

"Sure!"

"Sir" moved ever so slightly, instantly drawing your attention. You walked over to him and crouched down. "Sir? How are you today? Do you feel well?"

He coughed and reached out for your fingers. Gladly you complied and kissed his smudged cheek. "I hope you are...it would...I hope you are." Your eyes searched his handsome face for any signs of pain or suffering. Relieved at finding none, you exhaled the breath you had unconciously been holding. "Sir, your eyes are clearing up even more! That's fantastic!"

"Sir" merely nodded, still clutching your smaller hands. Swallowing, you kissed his forehead. "Would you like your pillow fluffed?"

Once again, a nod was your only reply. Carefully you held him to you and reached around to fluff his pillow, completely aware of him touching you. "There...I...umm...'Sir', would you please tell me your name?"

"..."

"It would make me feel better...like we're good friends...I don't have many here..." You wiped your eyes and tried to seem happier "...and seeing you everyday makes me feel like we're friends. We..." your face heated considerably. "We've gotten along...we have...a c-connecti-"

"NURSE!"

You jumped back, completely surprised at the louder voice. "Y-yes ma'am?"

"You are to be treating the patients, not telling them your life story. Leave this boy alone and go tend to the others!" her voice ordered, booming throughout the tent.

Biting your lip, you stood and smoothed out your apron. "Yes...ma'am..." You sadly turned to "Sir". "...Goodbye Sir. I hope you have a good day."

"Wait!" His coarse voice called. "Nurse _! P...Please..."

"Y...Yes?"

"D...Don't leave...me..."

Quickly you scanned the room for any loud nurses and sat back down beside his cot. "I don't want to leave you, but you need to be brave...I'll be back, I promise." Softly your lips touched his hand. "Hang in there. I won't leave you. I promise. I'll be back. Be brave."

"Sir" swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut as he heard you leave. "...E...Engel...I'll...be brave."


End file.
